(thing) by eien_meru Tue Jun 21 2005 at 2:59:15

Background

The Battle of Vo Mimbre is a fictional battle in David Eddings' first fantasy series, The Belgariad, and its sequel series, The Malloreon. He and his wife have written four different viewpoints of the Battle of Vo Mimbre:

  1. Pawn of Prophecy, as hearsay; a story told by the farmhands at Faldor's Farm.
  2. Belgarath the Sorcerer, from Belgarath's POV.
  3. Polgara the Sorceress, from Polgara's POV.
  4. The Rivan Codex, from a fictional Tolnedran history book.

Since the two prequel sources are from POVs of people who lived through the battle, I'll be leaning more on those two sources than the others. There's a very good reason to discredit the Tolnedran account — the Tolnedrans don't believe in magic, and magic was very much in evidence during the Battle of Vo Mimbre.

The Battle of Vo Mimbre takes place on two levels. The first is the physical invasion of the Kingdoms of the West that began with Torak's awakening from Ashaba and ended with his defeat on the third day at the hands of Brand, the Rivan Warder. On the other hand, the Battle of Vo Mimbre was also what the Mrin Codex calls an EVENT (really, a series of EVENTs), which mark the meeting of the two Purposes of the Universe. Essentially, these two Purposes each pick an Avatar to filter a smidgin of their power through. Those two Avatars each then make a choice, and whoever makes the better choice wins.

It's for this reason that, despite the Kingdoms of the West being outnumbered at least 10:1 (see note below), they can win the Battle of Vo Mimbre.

Theatre Resources

  • The Kingdoms of The West (Commanded by Belgarath the Sorcerer, First Disciple of the God Aldur)
  • The Kingdoms of The East (Commanded by Kal Torak, Dragon God and Emperor of Mallorea)
    • The Armies of Angarak
      • Murgo soldiers, led by King Ad Rak Cthros. About 20,000.
      • Nadrak infantry, led by Rak yar Narblek. About 10,000.
      • Thull serfs, around 12,000.
    • The Grand Army of Mallorea, no less than 80,000 Angarak soldiers.
    • The First Disciple of Kal Torak, Zedar, also called The Apostate.
    • No more than 1,000 Grolims, Angarak magicians.
    • The Ashabine Oracles (A prophecy from the Dark Purpose), along with Torak's copies of the Mrin Codex. Perhaps the Darine, as well.
    • A second army, composed of another 80,000+ Angaraks, led by Torak's Disciple Urvon. Never made it to Vo Mimbre; bogged down by a blizzard, caused by the climate change.
    • And one ugly-lookin' iron palace on wheels, from which Torak commanded.

The numbers are, of course, only estimates, based on the land mass and livable area each country possesses. All that is really known is that the Kingdoms of the West were vastly outnumbered.

The Invasion of the West

The mobilization of Mallorea began as soon as Torak came out of his prophetic trance in Ashaba around 4850. The end of his prophecy days was marked by an unnatural eclipse and a permanent shift in weather patterns which made the next twenty-five years very wet and rainy. Torak made his way to Mal Zeth, the capital of Mallorea, and set aside the emperor, naming himself "Kal Torak" — God and King.

The Mrin Codex, the principle prophecy of the Purpose of Light, reveals that the event will take place somewhere in Arendia. Preparations are made in the west for the upcoming battle. It is assumed that Torak will cross the ocean, land in Gar og Nadrak, and go south, through Algaria, into Arendia. The Mrin Codex also reveals that the capital of Algaria, the Stronghold, will be sieged for a great deal of time, but not fall.

Torak, in a fit of insanity, turns instead through Drasnia, absolutely destroying the capital of Boktor. Only after the massacre is complete does he head for Algaria, losing bits and pieces of the massive Angarak army as he goes. He sieges the Stronghold, not knowing that the current heir to the Rivan King is there. Eventually, Torak gets tired of being cut away by the Algarian calvary and heads towards Vo Mimbre.

A second Mallorean army was supposed to attack Vo Mimbre from the south. It was to be led by Torak's second disciple, Urvon. Unfortunately, the climate change caused a blizzard that blocked the second army from even crossing the ocean. Torak had only half the forces he expected, yet still he moved towards Vo Mimbre. To make matters worse, the Alorns have been harrassing his rear column for years, and he must travel over the mountains of Ulgoland, where the Ulgos butcher his army under avalanches and knifings under the cloak of night.

Unfortunately for the West, Ran Borune, emperor of Tolnedra, cannot believe that the second army was not coming — there was no way of getting word from across the ocean without magical means, and Tolnedrans do not believe in magic. Still, he allowed another fraction of his legions to be ferried by Cherek war-boats from his southern border to Vo Mimbre. It's entirely possible that without the additional legions, Vo Mimbre would have been lost.

EVENT One: The Shield of Cthrag Yaska

Light Scenario: Poledra, the somewhat dead wife of Belgarath, takes the Orb of Aldur off the Sword of the Rivan King and places it on a shield, which Brand then wields in battle.

Dark Scenario: ??? Belgarath touches the orb; dies? Or Belgarath gives Brand the Sword of the Rivan King, Brand kills Torak, and the Child of Dark is reborn as someone Garion cannot defeat. (Zandramas, but with centuries of additional preparation)

EVENT Two: The Queen of Angarak

Light Scenario: The Father of the Gods, UL, teaches Poledra and Polgara to shape-shift together into the same snowy owl. This makes them effectively invisible to all forms of mind-reading. By spying on Torak and Zedar, Polgara discovers that Torak wants her to become his bride, and that the Battle of Vo Mimbre hinges on the challenge -- whether it comes on the third day (Mrin/Light Prophecy victory), or the second/fourth day (Ashaba/Dark Prophecy victory).

Dark Scenario: Polgara is overwhelmed by Torak's Will, and, without Poledra's protection, willingly becomes Torak's bride. Bad things happen. At best, Belgarath kills Polgara and the Rivan royal family needs a new protector. At worst, the Kingdoms of the West fall.

EVENT Three: Healing Arendia

Light Scenario: The Baron of Vo Mandor (a Mimbrate) and the Baron of Wildantor (an Asturian) become friends during an advance mission intended to slow the arrival of Torak's army. Baron Wildantor falls off a bridge, and Baron Vo Mandor saves his life, forging a link between the lines of the Knight Protector and the Bowman (both mentioned in the Mrin and Darine Codexes)

Dark Scenario: ??? Baron Wildantor dies, Arendia continues its civil war, perhaps causing Vo Mimbre to be lost. The Bowman has to be replaced, and probably fails at his EVENTs later on. Marrying the Asturian royal line with the Mimbrate royal line becomes more difficult.

Battle of Vo Mimbre, Day One:

Summer 4875: Twenty-five years since the eclipse. Torak's army arrives on the Arendish Plain, and Torak commands Zedar to take the city immediately. He charges the gates, but to no avail. The weaker catapults make no dents on the Golden City, and are quickly destroyed by the Chereks with Asturian cover fire. Torak gets pissed.

Battle of Vo Mimbre, Day Two:

It was known that the two Purposes agreed that Torak and Brand were forbidden from using magic during the battle, and it was thought the restriction also applied to the various sorcerers and magicians on the field. Torak commands Zedar to unleash his Will to take the city, for this is the decisive day for the dark side's victory.

Zedar, along with 1,000 or more Grolims (Angarak magician/priests), start using magic. They are quickly countered by the other sorcerers: Beldin, Belkira, Beltira, Belgarath, and Polgara.

Battle of Vo Mimbre, Day Three:

Things are looking grim. The additional legions promised by Ran Bourne haven't shown up yet, and Torak must be forced into accepting the duel today, or else the light guys lose badly. Finally, Tolnedrans and Chereks decide to show up. Party ensues, Torak in the middle. Surrounded, too. Oops.

Battlefield:

               R i v a 
           S e n d a r i a
            A s t u r i a
             (in forest)

-------------------------------------
      |                      |
    T |        reserves      | A D
  C o |  t n              m  | l r
  h l -> h a              u <- g a U
  e n |  u d    TORAK     r  | a s l
  r e |  l r              g  | r n g
  e d -> l a  malloreans  o <- i i o
  k r |  s k              s  | a a
    a |    s                 |   
      |        ^    ^        |
---------------|----|----------------

             M i m b r e
              (in city)

Mimbrates charge the mallorean ranks, causing ages of bad poetry and forcing Zedar to commit the reserves. The King of the Murgos and the King of the Nadraks both perish. Brand challenges Torak....

EVENT Four: The Bride of Torak

Belgarath (as a wolf) and Polgara/Poledra (as their shared snowy owl) join Brand as he challenges Torak. Torak has two contests of will: a half-hearted one directed at Belgarath and a full out assault on Polgara.

Light Scenario: Poledra summons her Will and blasts Torak with an owl screech so focused it would have killed any man instantly. Torak thinks he lost the contest, and becomes much less sure of himself.

Dark Scenario: Polgara becomes Torak's wife, and obtains her Ashaba Prophecy title, Queen of Angarak. All hell breaks loose. Belgarath forced to kill daughter or see all his hard work go up in flames, probably dies at Torak's hand.

EVENT Five: The Duel

Light Scenario: Brand and Torak fight. Torak draws first blood; Brand uncovers the Cthrag Yaska and runs Torak through the eye. Torak sleeps for a couple centuries, until the Godslayer can come along and kill him proper. Kingdoms of the West are saved!

Dark Scenario: Torak kills Brand, Vo Mimbre falls, followed by the West. Game over.

And that, as we say, is that.

What went wrong?

  1. Micromanagement: Torak's title, Kal, means 'King and God'. He rules exclusively by terror, through the Grolim magician/priest class. Unfortunately, this also means that his troops have little morale, and are quick to run.
  2. Overwhelming Hubris: Torak was a God, and was practically invincible. When news came that the Rivan King was not at the Battle of Vo Mimbre, Torak thought that he had already won, as the prophecy clearly states that only the Godslayer can kill Torak. On the other hand, being rebuffed by who he thought was Polgara shook his confidence and allowed Brand to win.
  3. Weakness in numbers: While Mallorea is grossly larger than the West, Torak simply didn't have the manpower to destroy Drasnia, execute a protracted siege on the Stronghold, pass over Ulgoland, and then fight at Vo Mimbre. His army died from a war of attrition, plain and simple.
  4. Lack of good help: Torak had three disciples, and only brought one to battle with him. Aldur had five, all of them stronger than Zedar.

Aftermath

After Torak falls, the Angaraks get, like, demoralized and stuff. So the Alorns, being racially prejudiced, decide to depopulate the Kingdoms of the East. It takes a whole forest to burn the bodies.

Afterwards, the Kingdoms of the West write the Accords of Vo Mimbre, which unified them under the Rivan King (should he return) in the event of another invasion. This, coupled with a legal ploy, allows Ce'Nedra to summon an army to distract the Angaraks while Belgarion kills Torak. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Polgara inserts the line into the Accords of Vo Mimbre which ensures Ce'Nedra becomes Belgarion's wife. That turns out to be rather important, later.

All and all, the Battle of Vo Mimbre was a victory for the Light Purpose of the Universe. Without a victory at this battle, several key family lines would never have produced the companions of the Godslayer, and, without his companions, the Godslayer would never have been able to defeat Torak.

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